1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to information retrieval, and more particularly to adaptively changing the font size with which information retrieved over a network is displayed.
2. Description of Related Art
Typically, text contained within documents made available to users of Networks such as the World Wide Web (WWW) is rendered on the user""s screen using a font size that is explicitly embedded in a document or a corresponding style sheet. This results in cases where the text displayed may be too large or small for a particular user with a specific screen size. The developers of browsers are aware of this fact and have provided mechanisms that allow the user to increase or decrease the size of the font, either by clicking a button (often repeatedly), to change the font size in a relative manner, or by enabling the user to enter a specific font size. While these solutions may be satisfactory for viewing a single WWW page or group of pages, they require the user to repeatedly change the font size during a web-surfing session where many different pages having many different font sizes are displayed. Thus, these solutions are primitive in that the user interface is not adapting to the individual user""s preferences or requirements.
Adaptive User Interfaces (UIs) are known. Many word processing, spreadsheet and drawing programs (e.g., Microsoft Word) xe2x80x9crememberxe2x80x9d the last X number of files opened and present them in most-recent-first fashion on the File menu of the application. This enables the user to quickly access the document desired without having to use the more complicated and time-consuming Open File dialog box.
Storing font size preferences within a document is known. Additionally, some products are engineered in such a way that they can recall the user""s last display size preference. The user can set a value to indicate what percent of the printable size should be displayed. After exiting the program and then re-opening the document the display size selected earlier is retained. For example, if the user decides to view a document at 150% of its printable size, then closes the document, exits the program and later re-opens the document it will display, by default, at 150%.
The Problems
The prior art is limited to those files stored and controlled locally by the user. In a network environment such as the World Wide Web environment the user has no control over document formatting at its source, typically a WWW server. Thus the prior art does not provide a way for adapting font size in a browser or other User Interface based on user font-size preferences for retrieved documents.
The prior art also fails to accommodate the needs of a variety of network users who have different individual preferences for viewing documents, the source copy of which must be shared with other users. The prior art also fails to account for display differences which may cause the same document to appear differently on different displays.
The present system provides apparatus, systems, methods and computer program products which allow for an adaptive User Interface within a network browser that will utilize information gathered over time to display retrieved pages with font sizes that are desired by the user, even if that user has not visited a particular page before.
As the user encounters web pages that are not in a suitable font size for comfortable viewing, he can change that font size using the prior art. However, in accordance with one aspect of the invention, a browser or other user interface is enhanced to record font size changes in a database and after a certain number of changes to the same font size for a particular page are recorded, the user is asked if this is the preferred font size. If the user indicates that it is the preferred font size, that information is stored in a second database and the desired font size will be automatically used the next time that page is accessed.
Additionally, in accordance with another aspect of the invention, an enhanced browser or other user interface is able to infer from previous font size preference settings made by the user, the appropriate font size to use when accessing a related page for the first time. The adaptive nature of this aspect of the invention is accomplished by utilizing a third database that tracks the user""s preferences and attempts to generalize that information, based on the hierarchical structure of WWW sites, so that user preferences can be applied to sub-sites within the site or even to the entire site without any affirmative action on the part of the user.
One aspect of the invention relates to apparatus for displaying information retrieved over a network. The apparatus includes a network interface and a computer connected to the network interface in which the computer stores information about document specific font size preferences for a user and displays documents retrieved over the network interface in a font size determined by that information.
Another aspect of the invention relates to a system for retrieving and displaying information using a network. At least one server is connected to the network. A computer, connected to the network, is configured for retrieving information from one or more servers, determining font size preferences based on at least one user""s history of font size changes and displaying the information in accordance with the font size preferences.
Another aspect of the invention relates to a method of determining font size preferences for display of documents by storing information about each font size change and a document to which it relates; and determining font size preference for documents based on that information.
Another aspect of the invention relates to a method of displaying a document, by checking a database of size preferences to see if a size preference is stored for the document. If a size preference is not found for the document, a check is made of a database for a size preference for a different document which shares a common portion of a network address with the first document. The document is then displayed with a size preference found in one of the databases.
The foregoing and other features, aspects and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description of the present invention when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.